With spring & summer just around the corner, flowy and femme dresses are just about to be back in season. These are our top picks for where to shop for unique and ethical dresses you can wear anywhere from a walk in the park to a walk down the aisle!
Our Top Pick | Amour Vert
Amour Vert is my knight in shining armor for sustainable fashion. The women-led company that makes sustainable women’s clothing, right out of California with zero-waste. The company is dedicated to addressing the impact of their designs prior to production, partnering directly with mills to develop fabrics. They are partnered with American Forests®, so every tee you buy they plant a tree for. What’s even more, they offer a resale marketplace for unwanted clothes called ReAmour.
Sizes: XS-XL
Price Range: $51-$298 (offer resale)
Fabrics: TENCEL™, Cottonseed cupro (rescued cotton waste fabrics), Organic Cotton, Lyocell, Merino wool, washable silk
Runner Up | The Reformation
“Not just a pretty dress”, the Reformation mission is to bring sustainable fashion to everyone. They offer a vast variety of styles, from midi dresses for brunch to silky dresses for a wedding. A 100% carbon neutral company, they balance all of the water and waste used, and source electricity offsets from wind power suppliers. They even offset the carbon footprint of their webserver and your screen’s energy when you browse the site!
Sizes: XS-XL (0-12) and some extended sizes Fabrics: TENCEL™ modal, FSC-Certified
Price Range: $78 – $598 (sell your old clothes for Ref credit or recycle them and ThredUP will give $5 to the Circular Fashion Fund)
Fabrics: Everything is made from low-impact materials, rescued deadstock fabrics, and repurposed vintage clothing. TENCEL™ Lyocell, TENCEL ™ X REFIBRA™, recycled cotton.
Christy Dawn
Honor Mother Earth with timeless and versatile dresses that you could live in. By using regenerative cotton farming, Christy Dawn is evolving from sustainable to regenerative. They are partnered with 3Degrees and EcoCart to help redistribute any emissions created when shipping their packages, so shipments won’t contribute to climate change.
Sizes: xs-xl, they also offer petite and plus sizes
Price Range: $128-$498
Fabrics: regenerative cotton, regenerative silk-cotton, organic cotton, deadstock fabric, and silk.
Symbology Clothing
This U.S. based team designs fabrics and garments that empowers and celebrates cultural art forms. Each collection includes motifs and symbols that reflect heritage as well as our shared humanity. The company uses fashion as a platform to train and sustainably employ women artisans in India.
Every item is handmade, with natural fibers that are sourced from India. The unique patterns and hand dyed and block printed before being cut and stitched, also by hand.
Sizes: xs-xl, plus sizes, and custom sizing
Price Range: $14-$325
Fabrics: Cotton, fibers sourced from India
Whimsy + Row
An eco-conscious lifestyle brand with a mission to provide elegance and ease in their products, Whimsy + Row makes all clothing within a few miles of their LA office. By locally producing, they can ensure fair wages for their workers and lower their carbon footprint. They use low impact fabrics and dyes, and all pieces are made using only recycled water. By using a wait-list feature they can prevent under or over cutting, so don’t panic when something is sold out, just get on the list!
They also have great bridesmaid/wedding options!
Sizes: xxs-xl, 0-12
Price Range: $140-$248, will often have sales
Fabrics: Certified organic cotton, Linen, TENCEL, Cupro, deadstock and upcycled fabric
Known Supply
Every wonder who makes your clothes? Founders Travis and Kohl Crecelius envisioned a company that celebrates the people who make the clothes. Their site has a feature that allows you to search the name of your product and see who made it. You can read more information about them and write a thank you, connecting customers with the makers.
Sizes: xs-4xl
Price Range: $50-$65
Fabrics: Organic cotton
ABLE
Hello girl power: ABLE is an ethical fashion brand with a 95% female staff that employs and empowers women as a solution to end poverty. By investing in, training, and educating women they are able to earn a living, break the cycle of poverty, and thrive. All leather products are byproducts from the meat industry, thus turning hides that would’ve been discarded into beautiful products. ABLE id deeply devoted to quality in both products and life, and it’s reflected in the amazing dresses they offer.
Sizes: xxs-xxl
Price Range: $50-$170
Fabrics: leather, cotton, organic cotton, modal
Check out this article for even more sustainable options –especially if you are not in the US!
